Steering-gear lock for autovehicles.



` W. F. HOLT.

STEERING GEAR LOCK FOR AUTOVEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED IULY2. |917.

1.262.796., Patented Apr. I6, 1918.

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WILLIAM F'. HoLT, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

STEERING-GEAR LOCK FOR AUTOVEHICLES:

Specification of' Letters Patent. l Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

`Application led July 2, 1917. Serial No. 178,219.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. HoLT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Steering-Gear Lock for Autovehicles, of which the following is a specification. f

This invention relates to devices of the character shown in my patent for steering bar lock, issued January 25, 1916, No. 1,169,402, and the device is intended to be used in lieu of the device shown in said patent in the transportation system patented to me January 16, 1917 No. 1,212,487.

This device is used to prevent deflection vof the wheels of the automobile from straight ahead position when said wheels are traveling on a railroad track, and an object of the invention is to make a device of this character which is simple, strong and effective.

Othery objects and advantages will appear in the subjoined detail description.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the front axle 'and wheels of an auto vehicle showing the invention applied thereto, a fragment of the railroad track also being shown.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan detail showing theconnection between the steering bar and the axle. l

Fig. 4 is'an enlarged sectional elevation on line indicated by @s4-wt, Fig. 3.

The stub axles are indicated at 1 in Fig. 1 and said stub axles are provided with wheels 2 constructed so as to ride along the rails 3 of a railroad track the same as an ordinary car wheel and therefore having a rail-tread 3, and capable of running on an ordinary roadway and for that reason provided with a road-tread preferably in the form of a resilient tire 11. The wheels 2 may be of any suitable construction and the wheels shown are analogous to those described and claimed in my co-pending application for patent for wheel for automobiles filed June 27, 1917, Serial No. 177,278.

The stub axles 1 are pivoted at 5 to the main axle 6 of the vehicle' and thus the -wheels are dirigibly; connected with the axle, the springs 7 of the vehicle being connected by U-bolts 8 to the main axle 6 as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The stub axles! 1 are provided with arms 9 in the usual way pivoted at 10 yto a steerling rod 11 which extends transversely in front of the axle 6 and a trifle below the level of said axle. One of the stub axles 1 is provided with an army 12 pivoted at 13 toa connecting rod 14C which in turn is con-l nected to suitable steering mechanism of any desired or preferred construction, not shown. When the rod 14 is moved backward and forward it swings the arm 12 so as to swing the stub axles 1 on their pivots 5 thus causing steering of the wheelsy 2 in a manner wellunderstood in the automobile art.

Extending rearward of the axle 6 between the level of the'axle and the steering bar 11 vention in its broader aspects is not limited to the exact means for vmaking the4 connection. However, these means may be constructed as vwill now be described.

The bar portion 16 is provided with a perforation 17 to passes through a perforation 19. in an arm 20. to provide a bar 21 corresponding to' the bar portion 16 andv slightlyspaced therefrom and fastened at its ends by suitable means as rivets 22 to the bar portions' 15 so as to form/a slot 22 to receive the forward end of thearm 20. The bar 21 is provided with a perforation 23 in alinement with the perforation 17 and the pin 18 is suficiently long to engage the perforation 23.

The rear end of the arm 20 is-provided with U-bolts 24: whichslidably engage the steering bar 11, there being a set screw 25 screw-threaded into a hole 26 in the` arm 20 and having its outer end engaging the steering bar 11 so as to adjustably connect the lsteering bar 11 with the arm 20. Thus the arm 20 can perforation 19 ini exact'alinement with the' receive a'pin 18 which also perforationsl 17, 23 so that the pin 19 can readily be inserted through all of the periterations.

When the vvlneels 2 are runnin on an ordinary roadway the pin 18 Wil be removed from the arm 20 so as to allow the. Wheels to be steered by manipulation of thewith the arm 20 so that the operation can Y herein as it forms no ypart of this present be performed from Jthe drivers seat, but such mechanism is not shown and described invention.

lb claim:

l. The combination with the axle of an auto vehicle, et Wheels having rail and road treads and dirigibly connected With 'the axle, means including a steering rod to steer the Wheelsa bar having inwardly and or- Wardly slanting end portions fastened to the axle, said bar having an intermediate p0rtion'I extending parallel with the vsteering rod, an arm rigidly ixed to the steering rod and extending rearward from the steering rod to adjacent the parallel portion of the bar, and means to detaohably connect the arm to the parallel portion of the bar.

2. The combination With the axle of an auto vehicle and springs fastened to said axle, of Wheels having rail and road treads and dirigibly connected with the axle, means including a steering rod to steer the Wheels, a bar fastened to the axle by the springastening means and having a portion extending parallel -With the steering rod, and means detaehably connecting t'he steering rod tothe parallel portion of the bar.

Signed at Los An eles, California, this 26th day of June, 191

' WHLAM F. HOLT. Witnesses:

Grenen H., Hines, A. F. SCHMIDTBAUER. 

